History | Specialities | Cameras and Film | Outdoor Kit

Ben Osborne has been a freelance photographer since 1984.

He specialises in wildlife and landscape photography but also shoots a wide variety of other outdoor subjects, ranging from oil spills to fell-running.

He has worked in many parts of the world but is best known for his images of Antarctica in the book of the BBC series “Life in the Freezer”.

His work has been published in numerous magazines including
National Geographic,
BBC Wildlife,
Geo, Radio Times and Hello!.

He works regularly with BBC film crews, taking publicity and editorial stills for major wildlife series - most recently for “Planet Earth”, a major series about the Natural History of the world. He shoots commissions, runs workshops, supplies stock libraries and presents audio-visual shows.

In depth...

With an academic background in zoology and a lifelong passion for wild places, it is perhaps not surprising that Ben specialises in wildlife and landscape photography. He has worked in many parts of the world from the polar regions to the tropics and has spent most of this time in tents, caves and mountain huts rather then 5-star hotels.

As well as wildlife and landscapes, Ben also shoots environmental images. These include a very diverse range of subject matter, from kids “bug-hunting” on a Shropshire nature reserve to the Sea Empress oil spill off the Pembrokeshire coast. Another of Ben’s favourite photographic subjects is outdoor recreation, an area of photography that lends itself to a more creative style of photography.

Different skills are required for all these subjects. The ability to use a camera and to compose interesting, relevant and exciting images is obviously a fundamental skill for a photographer, especially when shooting to a specific brief. You also need to have a vision, and you need to be able to translate that vision into images. And it helps to have patience, persistance and determination to get the images that you want.

Having worked successfully for numerous clients in a wide range of locations, Ben is experienced in shooting pictures to suit different briefs, clients and circumstances and is always prepared to develop new ideas.

 

A few notes and suggestions from Ben Osborne about equipment for wildlife photography:

Camera & Lenses | Flashgun | Tripod

CAMERA and LENSES: 
For wildlife photography I use Canon digital single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. This kind of camera allows you to see what the lens is “seeing” and ensures that you get exactly what you want in focus. You can also change lenses on these cameras which give you the flexibility to use wide, medium and telephoto lenses.

Many people assume that wildlife photographers use ultra-telephoto lenses all the time, but this is not the case. Many wildlife pictures are shot on wide or medium focal length lenses – it is all a matter of where you can get the camera in relation to the subject. Head for a seabird colony like the Farne Islands and you’ll find that you can shoot good wildlife images all day with a standard lens.

I use zoom lenses which give a range of focal lengths within the one lens – this reduces the amount of time that you spend changing lenses and it gives you more options. Nowadays these lenses are optically excellent and can be reasonably priced. In fact, with a camera body, a 28-80mm lens and a 70-300mm lens you have a portable kit that provides everything you need to start photographing wildlife. And most zoom lenses have a “macro” facility so you can get close-up images as well.

There are, however, a few more items that you might find useful...

FLASHGUN:
A surprisingly important accessory, especially for close-up work where the amount of available light is often limited.

A flashgun can also be used very effectively to complement available daylight, a technique called “fill-flash”. Here, the flash enhances the illumination of a foreground subject or is used to reduce harsh shadows.

TRIPOD:
No-one likes carrying a tripod but no serious photographer is going to survive without one. A tripod is just one of the burdens of the job!

So why is this piece of kit so essential. Primarily because it provides a steady support for the camera. This allows the use of long shutter speeds without camera shake, thus keeping the image sharp during exposures of several seconds, minutes or even hours.

A tripod is particularly important when using telephoto lenses. The use of a fluid (video) head  when using long lenses to pan with a moving subject is becoming increasingly popular and is also effective in reducing camera shake.

 

 

Working out-of-doors is a very rewarding experience but only if you are properly equipped to cope with the prevailing conditions.

Sometimes life is easy. On a “Blue Planet” shoot to Costa Rica, we wore shorts, tee-shirts and sandals for the entire trip. Even when filming at night it was warm enough for this minimal clothing.

Filming for “Life in the Freezer”, however, presented more of a problem and we were all bundled up in several layers of clothing for months on end.

The UK lies somewhere between these two extremes although sometimes it includes them. Compare, for example, a warm summer day on a Cornish sea cliff with a winter blizzard on the top on Ben Nevis. From a wildlife photographer’s point of view, there are couple of kit things that are worth mentioning. Waterproofs are one of these.

When working with animals, I have used a Snowsled ventile jacket as an outer layer. Ventile is a tightly-woven cotton material which is totally windproof and very breathable. It is not water-proof but as it gets wet, the fibres soak up water and expand, thus preventing more water from penetrating the material. It is much heavier than modern breathable shell fabrics but is very hard-wearing, lasts for years and makes far less rustling noise. More recently I have begun using Paramo clothing. This company produces a superb range of outdoor clothing to suit any situation/climate in the world. They are all extremely comfortable whilst being very durable.

You will also need a carrying system for your gear. It is very much a personal choice but I am far more comfortable carrying less gear in a larger rucksack than what seems like tons of gear in a tiny bumbag. And I don’t like “photographer’s vests”. My choice is a Lowepro shoulder bag or rucksack. These are very well designed and built and cater for all sizes and shapes of kit.